The Inspiring Story of Ms. Ega in Fighting Cyberbullying through Digital Literacy in Junior High School
PeaceGen.Id - The digital space is like a double-edged sword for the world of education. On the one hand, it provides unlimited access to information, but on the other hand, it poses real threats such as cyberbullying and data misuse.
Ms. Ega Wiwit Fitriani, a Guidance and Counseling Teacher (BK) at SMPN 39 in Bandung City, has been aware of this from the start. She faces the real challenges that students encounter in the virtual world and how digital literacy education is key to change in her school.
Digital Challenges Faced by Ms. Ega as a Guidance Counselor
Before attending the digital literacy webinar, Ms. Ega revealed that literacy at her school was still conventional. Although literacy training was carried out regularly, it did not refer to more specific digital literacy.
Ms. Ega often encountered many phenomena in the guidance counseling room. For example, mutual insults on social media that lead to conflict, starting from WhatsApp channels or TikTok content. There is also the misuse of fake accounts to mock friends on social media. Not to mention the case of WhatsApp stickers that use teachers' faces without permission.
Baca juga: Teacher’s Story: How Rega Nugraha Prevents Digital Threats in Islamic Boarding Schools
“Many children are not aware of the dangers of over-sharing or how sharp their words can be on social media,” said Ms. Ega.
What did Ms. Ega gain from PeaceGen's Digital Literacy Webinar?
Ms. Ega found that PeaceGen's digital literacy webinar had a different impact because of its practical approach. Using the ARKA method (Activity, Reflection, Concept, and Application), teachers did not just sit and listen to theory, but understood and learned how to apply it.
One of the most memorable activities for Ms. Ega was Romi Remuk. This opening activity served as a powerful metaphor for teachers and students about the impact of bullying on children.
“The PeaceGen method is really interesting because it's not just about the material, but we also do activities first, such as crumpling paper. From there, we can imagine, ‘Oh, so this is the impact.’ It's more interactive and meaningful because there is a reflection process before getting into the material. The Romi Remuk activity is one of the things that makes the material more interesting and easier to understand,” she said enthusiastically.
Ms. Ega felt that the material on account protection was helpful. She became more aware of the importance of using strong passwords and not carelessly posting her phone number on social media.
She also emphasized digital ethics, where students are taught to be more thoughtful in their comments and to refrain from sarcastic remarks.
Baca juga: 150+ Teachers Become Agents of Change to Create Digital Safe Schools with PeaceGen
The dissemination of knowledge gained from the webinar did not stop with Ms. Ega, but was shared with her fellow teachers at SMPN 39 Bandung so that everyone would have the same level of awareness.
“Praise God, we teachers who participated in the webinar immediately held a dissemination session. So all the teachers at the school were able to obtain the information from the webinar. Not only the teachers who participated, but all teachers could become more aware,” she said enthusiastically.
The Next Step Towards a Digital-Friendly School
The success of this webinar has sparked even bigger plans. Ms. Ega plans to hold a special workshop for teachers, inviting PeaceGen as guest speakers. The main focus? Preventing violence in schools and strengthening digital literacy.
Ms. Ega hopes that topics such as adolescent mental health and how to cope with a fast-paced world can be discussed more often in the future. Adolescents need guidance so they don't get caught up in the flow of misinformation.
The journey towards a digitally safe school environment is still long, but with collaboration between teachers, students, and educational platforms such as PeaceGen, this challenge is not impossible to overcome.
Teachers have the opportunity to participate in similar activities as Ms. Ega. Follow @peacegenid and @peacegen.academy on Instagram for information on the next teacher capacity building activities!
For teachers who wish to collaborate further with PeaceGen, please contact us via email at [email protected].
